IOWA CITY — Intensity. Energy. Effort. Enthusiasm. Joy. Servant mentality. Toughness.
New Iowa men’s basketball coach Ben McCollum assigned each label to legendary former Hawkeye Chris Street during his introductory news conference.
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Ben McCollum provides his opening remarks during his introduction as head coach of the Iowa men's basketball team at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City on Tuesday, March 25. ETHAN PETRIK, Quad-City Times
According to McCollum, an Iowa City native who grew up in Storm Lake cheering for the black and gold, he wants his program to be everything Street personified.
“How are our teams going to look?” McCollum said. “… It is vivid in my mind, and most of you have seen it. I grew up seeing it. Have you ever seen Chris Street play? Like just the intensity, the energy, the effort, the enthusiasm, the joy, the servant mentality, the toughness. Everything that Iowa stands for is what our team is going to look like.”
Street, who played for Iowa from 1990 to 1993 before tragically passing away in a vehicle accident in the middle of his junior season, was described by former Iowa head coach Tom Davis as representing “all that is good about the Midwest and the state of Iowa. He was open, caring, honest, loving and lived life to the fullest every day."
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Ben McCollum hypes up the crowd during his introduction as head coach of the Hawkeye men's basketball team at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City on Tuesday, March 25. ETHAN PETRIK, Quad-City Times
Announced as the 23rd head coach of the program Monday and formally introduced with a news conference Tuesday, McCollum said he wants his program to be like Street on and off the court.
“From an X’s and O’s standpoint, obviously I think we'll be good there, too,” McCollum said. “But most importantly, when you watch our team and we go on the road in the Big Ten or we go on the road to other games, I want you to be proud of how our kids act, how they compete, how they love each other, how they serve each other. That, to me, has still and will remain the most important thing.
“My objective is to make better husbands, better fathers, better citizens, and that's what I'll do here at the University of Iowa through the game of basketball and try to make the state of Iowa proud.”
McCollum, who dreamed of playing for the Hawkeyes, said he idolized Street, among other former Hawkeyes. And, he displayed the encyclopedic knowledge to back it up.
“To the past players, you're who I idolized,” McCollum said. “I mean, that's who I watched growing up was the past players for the University of Iowa, all the way back from B.J. Armstrong. I could rattle off — I'm just like, Wade Lookingbill, Val Barnes, Mon'Ter Glasper. These are just the random names. Acie Earl, obviously Chris Street. I can just rattle off a bunch of them.”
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Ben McCollum hypes up the crowd during his introduction as head coach of the Hawkeye men's basketball team at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City on Tuesday, March 25. ETHAN PETRIK, Quad-City Times
A four-time Division II national champion, McCollum said he hopes his former idols can play a role in reigniting the Iowa program during his tenure and fostering success in Iowa City.
According to the former Drake head coach, he desires to enlist the alumni and student body to help grow excitement around his program and pack Carver-Hawkeye Arena next season.
“We're going to connect,” McCollum said. “Our players are going to connect with the students. I need to connect with the students, and our whole program does. Again, though, it's not us uplifting this program. It's the whole university. It's the students helping as well, and it's the community of Iowa City as well. It's former players. You know, some of these former players are, again, they were my idols growing up. Like the NBA I didn't watch. I watched the Iowa Hawkeyes. Like those are my guys. And getting them involved, too, and just creating this awesome environment like that throughout the summer.
“It's Iowa. You have to shake hands. … What do they say, Iowa nice? It's God's country, as we say. So just do little things like that, and I think it goes a long way.”
And, when McCollum talks success, he means championships.
"I've always felt like you needed to take a job that you can win championships and compete for them on a consistent level," McCollum said. "Beth Goetz has given me that opportunity and given resources to make sure that we can do just that, and that's our goal is to get Carver-Hawkeye Arena filled back up, to create an environment where other fans want to come and to be the best venue in the state of Iowa.
"We're going to fight for that. We're going to compete for that. We've done that at other schools, and hopefully we can do that here."
McCollum already seems to be on the right track toward fulfilling his goals of a raucous Carver.
A healthy contingent of students created a tunnel outside Carver-Hawkeye Arena for McCollum to enter through before his introductory news conference. Among the students were Kelly Roney from Aurora, Illinois, and London Hershberger from Ankeny.
The two told the Quad-City Times they attended “three or four” Iowa men’s basketball games during the 2024-25 season and “did not bother” purchasing seasonlong student tickets.
When asked whether the hire, which they both approved of, would guarantee their purchase of season tickets for the 2025-26 season, a new consensus was reached.
“For sure,” they said.
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Ethan Petrik is a University of Iowa beat writer for the Lee Enterprises network. Follow him on X or send him an email at ethan.petrik@wcfcourier.com.
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